11.   But if retrospective review proves ineffective, this option will become expensive.

12.   But that option could become the most viable one.

13.   COMPETITION More low-cost fund options are becoming available.

14.   Futures options become more valuable when the percentage rises, and less valuable when it declines.

15.   However, nonqualified options are becoming relatively more popular and now account for about half of all new options granted.

16.   If the price does not rise, the options become worthless.

17.   If the Fed keeps cutting rates, however, the yield curve probably would steepen and those options would become more valuable.

18.   If the stock price dips below the price of the options, the options simply become worthless.

19.   If the option becomes popular, industry officials predict, the price could drop to a few hundred dollars within a few years.

20.   In Silicon Valley, options have even become a kind of currency to pay for outside help.